August 13, 2012 - 10:39 PM
MONTREAL - The Montreal Canadiens have locked down winger Max Pacioretty with a six-year contract extension.
The 23-year-old, who still has a year remaining on his current contract, was Montreal's leading goal-scorer last season with 33 goals to finish with 65 points in 79 games.
"Thanks for the support everyone! So happy to be a part of this organization long - term.. #habs," Pacioretty wrote on his Twitter account.
The move was announced Monday night and comes two months after he won the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, determination, and dedication to the game.
The six-foot-two, 210-pound Connecticut native sustained a fractured neck and a concussion in March 2011 after taking a hit from Boston's Zdeno Chara, but returned to Montreal's roster the following season.
He started the Max Pacioretty Foundation to help the Montreal General Hospital Foundation raise money for a Functional MRI machine at the hospital's Traumatic Brain Injury Centre.
Since the Habs drafted Pacioretty 22nd overall in the 2007 draft, he's scored 53 goals and 61 assists for 114 points in 202 career NHL games.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012